March 2004 - electricAmerica and the City of Santa Monica have renewed an agreement under which the company will continue to supply 100% renewable energy to the City's municipal facilities. The 5 MW purchase will be sourced from a variety of renewables such as wind, biomass, and geothermal. In 1999, Santa Monica became the first city in the nation to purchase green power to meet its entire municipal electricity needs.

March 1999 - The City of Santa Monica became the first city to switch all city facilities to 100% green power when the City Council directed city staff to sign a one-year contract with electricAmerica (formerly Commonwealth Energy) to purchase 5 megawatts of geothermal power. The city will pay a 5% premium, or about $140,000 more annually, for the electricity. Although, initially, the power will be supplied from existing geothermal power plants at The Geysers field in Sonoma County, Commonwealth has reportedly pledged to develop new geothermal power plants near the Salton Sea in Imperial County. In addition to its municipal purchases, Santa Monica plans to initiate a public education campaign to encourage residents and businesses to become more energy efficient and to switch to a green power provider.

November 1998 - The City of Santa Monica has released its RFP for the procurement of 21 million kWh of green power to serve city-owned facilities on an annual basis. According to Henwood Energy Services, Inc. (HESI), the city's RFP consultant, Santa Monica is also exploring an "outreach program" that "may well result in a substantial increase in the size and scope of participants in the program."

The final date for submittal of proposals is December 15, 1998. It is expected that proposals will also include energy management strategies for the city to follow.

HESI Contact: Kristen Kelley (916) 569-0985

October 1998 - The Santa Monica City Council formally approved an RFP process to secure 5 MW of green power to serve the city's electricity loads. Earlier this summer, Santa Monica became the first local government in California to commit to buying green power for all of its municipal needs. The city also has plans to develop an aggregation program to facilitate green power purchases by private citizens.

July 1998 - Santa Monica became the first city in California to commit to green power when the City Council directed city staff to pursue "by the earliest possible date" the purchase of renewable energy to power City Hall and other city facilities.

The move was endorsed by Global Green USA, a Los Angeles-based conservation organization which is spearheading an effort to convince businesses and residences in Southern California to choose green power.